Aspirate pleura without imaging 32554 at Mercy Medical Center Merced

333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$1,188.62

Cash price

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Discounted cash price

What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge.

Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$2,308.00

Gross charge

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Gross charge (chargemaster price)

The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this.

Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$85.02 with Health Plan of San Joaquin vs $9,131.00 with Health Net — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
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Negotiated rate

The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.

Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.

Full explanation →

Payer
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Payer

The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on.

Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509.

Full explanation →
Plan
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Plan

The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates.

Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible.

Full explanation →
Negotiated rate vs. cash
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Kern Health System Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Kern Health System Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -93%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $85.20 ↓ -93%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $85.20 ↓ -93%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $93.43 ↓ -92%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $201.81 ↓ -83%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $496.50 ↓ -58%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $635.52 ↓ -47%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $645.45 ↓ -46%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $645.45 ↓ -46%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $685.17 ↓ -42%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -34%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -34%
United Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -34%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -34%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -34%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -34%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -34%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -34%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -34%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $794.40 ↓ -33%
Allcare Commercial|All Plans $828.43 ↓ -30%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $933.42 ↓ -21%
United Commercial|HMO $983.07 ↓ -17%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $993.00 ↓ -16%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $993.00 ↓ -16%
United Commercial|Options PPO $993.00 ↓ -16%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $4,116.00 ↑ +246%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $5,322.00 ↑ +348%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $5,322.00 ↑ +348%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $5,322.00 ↑ +348%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $5,416.00 ↑ +356%
Health Net Commercial|Care Product $8,022.00 ↑ +575%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $8,557.00 ↑ +620%
Health Net Commercial|FFS $9,131.00 ↑ +668%

Visitor-reported prices

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Aspirate pleura without imaging 32554 at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $580.35 $104.57 – $1,452.04
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $976.14 $845.36 – $2,695.00
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $2,108.56 $63.13 – $239.12
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $619.20 $85.02 – $1,335.20
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $612.53 $85.02 – $1,318.51
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $4,047.87 $890.68 – $6,200.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $5,978.73 $806.82 – $8,018.00
Healdsburg Hospital Healdsburg $2,204.22 $845.19 – $3,982.87

All California hospitals for this procedure →